GOVERNOR’S CABINET ON NONPROFIT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WORK GROUP ON JOBS
JUNE 21ST 2013
TO ENSURE ONGOING PROVISION OF HIGH QUALITY COST EFFECTIVE HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES BY NONPROFIT COMMUNITY-BASED PROVIDERS BY PROMOTING A WELL TRAINED, WELL EDUCATED WORKFORCE
THE COMMITTEE FOCUSED ITS EFFORTS ON THE FOLLOWING GOALS:
1. Project the workforce needs of the future. Work with DOL to assemble data on nonprofit employment and wages
2. Recommend a plan to work with SDE and the elementary, secondary education and higher education systems to train the future workforce.
3. Work with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs to match health and human services workforce needs and potential workers
4. Work with Department of Economic and Community Development to develop incentives for nonprofit businesses
5. Project the workforce skill requirements of the future considering the impact of the Affordable Care Act
Members of the committee:
Co- Chairs- Terry Macy, Commissioner, DDS and Maureen Price- Boreland, Executive Director, Community Partners in Action
Deborah Chernoff, Communications Director, SEIU 1199, New England; Glenn Connan, Vice President, MCCA; Patricia Kupec, Counselor Supervisor, Dept. of Correction; Katherine Lewis, Deputy Commissioner, DPH; Michael Morrill, Division Director, Justice Resource Institute; Amy Porter, Commissioner, Dept. of Rehabilitation Services; Mark Polzella, Director of Employment Services, DOL; Jeffrey Shaw, CT Association of Nonprofits; Barry Simon, CEO, Gilead Community Services, Inc.; William Young, CEO, ADRC.
Meetings held to date:
February 28th –strategy discussion to meet goals
1 March 28th – strategy discussion to meet goals.
May 1st – Presentation from Alice Pritchard
May 9th - Presentation from Victoria Veltri on ACA.
June 13th – Review draft report
INTRODUCTION:
Nonprofit community based providers play an exceptional and vital role in Connecticut’s communities and in our State. The sector enriches community life, offers people a way to participate, stands up for underrepresented people, provides essential services, and pioneers solutions to social and economic problems. Nonprofit community based providers promote the values and ideals that attract so many to Connecticut’s quality of life, while also investing significant financial and human resources in communities throughout the state. Connecticut’s nonprofit community is one of the most robust and vibrant in the country, playing a significant role in the state’s reputation as a great place to live and raise a family. Nonprofit community based providers are key to our present and our future.
Much of the employment in the nonprofit sector is created through state, local & federal government investment for essential social & community needs.
Many jobs created by nonprofit community based providers are low wage because funding to nonprofit community based providers is insufficient to allow for more substantial wages. Most nonprofit community based providers seek philanthropic and private dollars to supplement state funds with the goal to pay staff better and cover costs that the State does not. However, due to many years of underfunding with insufficient cost-of-living adjustments coupled with the continuously increasing operational costs, these supplemental dollars simply allow nonprofit community based providers to maintain low wages while attempting to cover the rising cost of basic benefits including healthcare.
The nonprofit sector is diverse and includes educational institutions, hospitals, the arts and others. For purposes of its work, the committee agreed to focus on the nonprofit sector that provides human services and judicial branch services by way of Purchase of Service Contracts. Purchase of service contracts are between a state agency and a private provider organization, municipality or another state agency for the purpose of obtaining direct health and human services for agency clients.
There are six major state agencies in the current human service system: Department of Children and Families, (DCF), Department of Correction (DOC), Department of Developmental Services, (DDS), Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS), Department of Public Health (DPH), and Department of Social Services (DSS). With recent agency consolidations, the Department of Rehabilitative Services, Aging, Education and Housing are or will be administering POS contracts, most of which, to date, have been administered by DSS. Additionally as part of the judicial branch, CSSD’s significant human services contracts.
2 The work group provides the following outline to include policy statements, background information on its work and research, challenges presented in achieving the goals and recommendations for meeting the goals. Due to the limitation of current available data and resources, the work group submits this report, as Phase 1 of its work. This report provides background information and recommendations that will be used as the framework for the next steps which would be considered Phase 11 activities for the workgroup.
GOAL 1: PROJECT THE WORKFORCE NEEDS OF THE FUTURE:
WORK WITH DOL TO ASSEMBLE DATA ON NONPROFIT EMPLOYMENT AND WAGES.
Policy Statement:
As the nonprofit workforce is enormously diverse and will likely continue to experience dynamic change in the future, the State of Connecticut should use all available employment tracking tools to properly classify and monitor this workforce. The CT Department of Labor, POS state agencies and the judicial department are the most immediate partner to work with to help create a responsive data base.
Background Information:
According to the Connecticut Department of Labor 2011 statistics, nonprofit community based providers in total employ 12% of the state’s workforce. The nonprofit workforce is greater than many of the specific individual targeted employment clusters such as precision manufacturing, financial services, aerospace, etc. The nonprofit community is an under recognized economic engine in the overall state economy.
The Connecticut Department of Labor (DOL) data shows a slight growth – less than 1% - in total nonprofit employment in Connecticut between 2009 and 2010. There was also less than 1% growth between 2009 & 2008. The Department of Labor does not distinguish between charitable (c) (3) nonprofit community based providers and other nonprofit community based providers (e.g.: (c) (4), (c) (6), etc.)
Health Care and Social Assistance account for the largest grouping, by far, in the DOL classification. In 2010, 127,373 jobs of the total 188,817 nonprofit jobs, or 67 %, were in Health Care and Social Assistance. (2011 Employment Stats from the Connecticut Department of Labor)
The 2011 Department of Labor statistics show an increase in the categories of educational services, professional, scientific and technical services and health care & social assistance, including services for the elderly and persons with disabilities, residential developmentally disability facilities, vocational rehabilitation services, home healthcare and residential mental health and substance abuse facilities.
Meanwhile, decreases were recorded in nursing care facilities; child day care services; arts, entertainment, and recreation; accommodation and food services; and “other” service sectors.
3 Connecticut now has the 3rd oldest population in the country. The State’s 65 and older population is expected to grow 64 percent from 2006 to 2030. The demand for services in the next few decades will increase rapidly particularly since more of the older population wish to remain at home and avoid nursing homes and assisted living. Many “aging in place” initiatives provide seniors with support services so they can stay in their own homes. The growth of related services for shopping, transportation, homemakers & companions, nursing, etc. can be expected. Nonprofit community based providers will be a major factor and force in providing these services. (Partners in Prosperity, The Connecticut Sector Impact in Building the Economy, Connecticut Association of Nonprofits)
Challenges:
1. The current data available through the Department of Labor focuses on a broad definition of a nonprofit and this does not capture and reflect specifics on the Purchase of Service and Human Service sector. 2. Resources are needed to gather relevant data on the nonprofit workforce. The goal is to identify relevant baseline data that will inform trends on purchasing of service contracts and the judicial branch human services contract. 3. State agencies have no consistent system for gathering cumulative workforce data on the nonprofit community based providers that they contract with.
Recommendations:
1. The work group should continue to work with DOL, OPM and relevant state agencies to collect data on the POS and CSSD’s contracted workforce in the nonprofit sector: The work group suggest that the data will include the following information:
Categories of standard positions Average numbers of those employed Weekly average wages Current average wages based on job categories Hourly wages needed to support basic economic security for workers.
1. The committee supports and endorses the following recommendation made by the Commission on Nonprofit Health and Human Services report, final report, March 31st, 2011- “While the state’s current fiscal situation may preclude immediate action, the state should commit to funding Private Non-Profit providers at a level that would allow the Private Non-Profit sector to raise the wages of its lowest paid workers and to implement a salary structure that would allow the Private Non-Profit sector to recruit and retain a qualified workforce”
2. The Governor’s Nonprofit Liaison or a designee should participate as a voice at the table of the Campaign for Working Connecticut (CWCT) and the Connecticut Workforce Development Council. The Campaign for a Working Connecticut is a coalition that promotes the state’s economic competitiveness through the development of sustainable, effective workforce solutions to increase workers’ skills and advance families to self-sufficiency. The Connecticut Workforce Development Council (CWDC) strives to develop a competitive workforce to meet the current and future needs of our partners in business by creating opportunities through education, training and job readiness.
4 3. In consideration of the necessary business model of the nonprofit sector, planned efforts should be made by the nonprofit sector to align and partner with other identified and complimentary business entities.
4. The workgroup will prepare a report t that captures trends of the current and future workforce of the nonprofit sector.
5. The workgroup will assess and report on the ability to develop and implement a statewide data system that captures workforce needs and trends across the nonprofit sector.
GOAL 2: RECOMMEND A PLAN TO WORK WITH SDE AND THE ELEMENTARY, SECONDARY AND HIGHER EDUCATION SYSTEMS TO TRAIN THE FUTURE WORKFORCE.
Policy Statement:
The diverse nonprofit workforce has dynamic training needs that require a new and coordinated partnership between all levels of education (secondary through technical and higher education) and state agencies. These efforts should be aligned with a strategic investment in training that supports improved skills in the sector and builds a talented and well prepared nonprofit workforce.
Background:
The current training options for the Purchase of Service and Judicial Human Services nonprofit sector are fragmented. Training opportunities include those provided by two key trade associations, Connecticut Association of Nonprofits and Connecticut Community Providers Association, along with program specific sectors conducted by such agencies primary mission is on homelessness, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS, etc. Certain state agencies provide industry specific training for staff. Additionally, some nonprofit providers provide access to various on line and in person training opportunities.
Challenges:
There is no consistent and standardized system for offering coordinated trainings and skill building for a career development for nonprofit staff. There is a gap between educational skills, training resources and a career pathway.
Recommendations:
1. Conduct a survey of the nonprofit sector to establish a base line of needs, current resources, gaps in resources and recommendations for meeting the training needs.
2. Conduct a survey of the resources within Connecticut educational institutions designed to meet the needs of the nonprofit work force.
5 3. Establish a task force of the workgroup to develop a plan and standard resources for coordinated trainings. The goal is to offer a consistent career pathway and core trainings for entry level, mid- level and advanced nonprofit staff.
4. Interns are a key resource for nonprofit community based providers and often transition into full time employment. There should be a state wide formalized system for identifying a pool of students for internship opportunities within nonprofit community based providers.
5. Nonprofit community based providers should be seek representation on advisory boards of colleges
6. A roadmap for effective succession planning within agencies should be developed. “Ready to lead”
GOAL 3: WORK WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS’ AFFAIRS TO MATCH HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES WORKFORCE NEEDS AND POTENTIAL WORKERS:
Policy Statement:
As a provider of services to primarily a disenfranchised sector of the community, Connecticut nonprofit workforce both management and line staff should reflect the diversity of the clients they serve, particularly those (such as veterans) that are underrepresented and have special and emerging needs. Nonprofit community based providers should ensure that both management and line staff reflect the diversity necessary for a client focused and centered delivery of services.
Background:
The workgroup acknowledges that affirmative action steps towards employment of veterans are important in the nonprofit sector; however there is also recognition that the sector needs a workforce that is overall best prepared to meet its participant and client focused goals.
Challenge:
There is not consistency in the nonprofit sector of policies, recruitment efficiency, commitment and focus on hiring and retaining a pool of candidates and employees who reflect the broadest diversity to include veterans.
Recommendation:
1. In recognition of the diversity of the sector and the need for the staff to reflect, be sensitive to and competent in serving such diversity, nonprofit community based providers should actively commit to hiring management and line staff that reflects the current population that it serves and the emerging populations who also need service.
2. The Governor’s cabinet should include veteran representation as part of its membership
6 GOAL 4: WORK WITH DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT TO DEVELOP INCENTIVES FOR NONPROFIT BUSINESSES:
Background:
The workgroup has not addressed this topic at this point however as part of Phase 11 of its work will assess and research the mutually beneficial relationship that can be developed and enhanced between DECD and the nonprofit sectors.
Recommendation:
1. As part of its Phase 11 activities, the jobs workgroup will meet with Commissioner Kathleen Smith to explore the opportunities to develop incentives for nonprofit businesses.
GOAL 5: PROJECT THE WORKFORCE SKILL REQUIREMENTS OF THE FUTURE CONSIDERING THE IMPACT OF THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT:
Policy Statement:
Nonprofit community based providers are faced with complex decisions and processes in response to the evolution and implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Nonprofit community based providers are also faced with rising cost of health care that is having a significant impact on their ability to provide adequate coverage for staff and the fiscal viability of the individual organizations.
Background:
Vicky Veltri provided an informational presentation to the workgroup on the Affordable Care Act. It was very informative and raised awareness of the evolving complexity of the issues in its implementation.
The State through several sources including OPM is providing informational sessions on the topic for both the state and nonprofit sector.
7 The leadership for this process is evolving and the nonprofit role at this stage is to become educated on the best role and direction for implementation within the sector.
Challenges:
The distinction between being an employer and a provider who bills for services Reimbursement rates vs. employee rates Increases in premiums will continue Additional drain on nonprofit community based providers resources to pay healthcare costs Scope of the use of the exchange How best to inform employees of their healthcare options? Cost benefit analysis for employers ; penalty vs. affordable coverage for employees Exchange vs. Marketplace Employers giving consideration to not offering dependent care Process and timing for decisions by 1/1/2014
Recommendations:
1. The workgroup will defer action on ACA at this point and reassess its efforts as part of Phase 11 of its work.
2. The workgroup will gather data, recommendations and report on the growing cost of health care and its impact on the nonprofit budgeting process and workforce.
3. At a later date, the work group will assess and report on the implications of the ACA to the nonprofit workforce.
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